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MUMBAI: Last month, Sumit Chatterjee, a shop floor employee at a Big Bazaar store in Lower Parel, Mumbai, was stunned to see Kishore Biyani, the man who built a Rs 12,000 crore-plus retail empire, stroll in. Biyani went around the store in his usual unassuming manner, watching and talking to consumers and employees.

This is how Biyani had built his various businesses - using his uncanny knack of turning sharp, on-the-gr-ound observations into sound business strategy.

But the retail pioneer had pulled back from the frontline over the past couple of years. By his own admission, he had given up visiting stores several months ago, even becoming a recluse in his own company during the past two years.

That was when the Future Group struggled with the pain of bringing down a Rs 9,000-crore debt burden, selling businesses, including a majority stake in Pantaloons, his prized possession, and letting top-notch professionals go. At that time, unconfirmed speculation about a possible sale of even Big Bazaar.

A New Perspective for the Business

Speculation about a possible sale of Big Bazaar, his flagship format, had led to many fears and insecurities in the Future Group. "I am back from my vanvaas," Biyani, 51, declares. His sleeves were rolled up and there was a new energy in his stride when he met ET at his Vikhroli office in the eastern suburbs of Mumbai.

He has moved out of what he calls 'the ivory tower' to connect with employees and consumers directly. The vanvaas, Biyani says, has helped bring in a new perspective and different lens to view business through. "Earlier, I approached the business with guts and instinct; now I am working with wisdom and balance," he says.

From bankers to former rivals to shop floor employees, everybody is now seeing a new, wiser Biyani at work. "He is accepting all his mistakes and is looking at the retail business in a fresh way," says BS Nagesh, vice-chairman, Shoppers Stop, and founder, TRRAIN. Nagesh has known Biyani for close to a decade. "He has been very disciplined in his finances (since paring debt from Rs 9,000 crore to Rs 5,400 crore) and has maintained leverage at sustainable levels," says Shikha Sharma, MD & CEO of Axis Bank.

The group's debt will come down further to about Rs 3,500 crore, according to a recent research report by ICICI Direct. "His focus on the customer is amazing. He gave useful insights; he was open to debate and made an effort to convince us. This makes us feel empowered," adds Chatterjee, the Big Bazaar employee whom Biyani surprised with a visit.

There are other changes too. Biyani has signed on renowned global CEO coach Ram Charan as his mentor to make the second innings 'different and enjoyable'. Ram Charan's first big advice to Biyani: Ask questions. "That was my biggest folly. I did not ask questions," says Biyani. His personal office space too seems to have gone through a little make-over. Unlike the earlier single chair and table set-up, there is a round table set aside for discussions, presentations and meetings. The photos in some of the frames he has put up in his office have changed too.

Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Dhirubhai Ambani and Paulo Coelho have replaced portraits of NR Narayana Murthy and Rahul Bajaj. Biyani is also showing little patience with thinkers in the system. He wants people focused on execution. He is trying to lead by example: Once again, he is visiting every store in the country on a regular basis and meeting 500 employees every week to ensure open communication. "I am bringing in fresh energy into the business. Employees look towards their leader for inspiration, and I realise that I have to do that."

"There is a new proactiveness in his approach, different from his earlier resigned attitude," says Devdutt Patnaik, Future Group's chief belief officer. Biyani's new wisdom, Patnaik says, has come from the financial difficulties he has overcome. "When Lakshmi is there, you don't see Saraswati. It is when you go through tough times that there is empathy and wisdom." Biyani himself admits he is more guarded and cautious in his approach to business now than he was a few years ago. "Earlier, there was nothing to lose so there was less fear during the stage of creation. Today, there is another fear, of losing what we created," he says. "This is very humbling and scary."

Love-hate relationship

Another big change is in his love-hate relationship with professionals. Some say he is in the latter state of mind now. Several of his long-time managers have moved out over the past one year when the group realigned business structures to focus on performance and execution. Biyani disbanded management layers to focus on just three companies: Future Lifestyle Fashion, Future Foods and Future Hypermarkets (Big Bazaar). Some professionals were miffed with Biyani's recent stance that MBAs do not know how to run the retail business.

But whose fault was it really?

Those who have worked with him closely say it is challenging for professionals with a business school orientation to jive with Biyani's entrepreneurial thinking. "He had the nervous energy of a child," say some managers who have worked with him. "He would be very excited about something initially, which would ebb after a while."

But Biyani insists his restlessness is healing. "I am more focused now," he says.

"He has always given a free hand to professionals to run businesses; some relationships worked, some didn't," says Rajan Malhotra, president of retail strategy at the Future Group, and a Biyani loyalist. "People have been his strength; they have also been his weakness."

There are also complaints that Biyani does not give credit to professionals where it is due. Says Malhotra: "I always have this grouse with him. He should give some credit to people around, although 'good' (by general standards) may not be good enough for him." This problem, though, is not unique to Biyani. Many entrepreneurs face similar challenges scaling up. As business matures, so too should their relationship with professional managers.

"His vocabulary for his organisation is now different: flawless execution and cash flows," says Irene Vittal, ex-partner at McKinsey, who has worked closely with Biyani. Earlier, Biyani would only talk new ideas. "This reinvention is delightful. While Biyani will always chase big ideas, he will task his team to execute a focused plan that drives profitability," she adds. Vittal admits she has a positive bias towards Biyani because she has learnt so much from him.

Biyani was the reason many of these professionals joined the group. He may also have been the reason for their exit. "Biyani empowered people earlier. It was an easy ride when the economy was upbeat. But it was not as easy to take (tough) people decisions in a downturn. So when he switched off, those who took up the job because of him chose to quit," says a top official who worked closely with him.

"We always have an emotional relationship with our employees. Parting can be difficult," says Biyani. "This period of vanvaas is good for everybody. People get to realise what is important and what matters." Biyani is also confident that those who left will return one day. "They all do." Still, Biyani seems lonelier today than he was a decade back, say observers. "He did feel let down by people in the system. Today, everybody is insecure because he has no core group or allies," says a top official. Biyani is dismissive of the charge. "I am with real people now, my own eyes and ears, no filtration and interpretation."

Then, there is the other Biyani: Rakesh, Kishore's cousin and joint MD of Pantaloon Retail. About 12 months ago, he took on a more hands-on role, sidelining many professionals. There has been speculation about Rakesh's role in the company, his relationship with Kishore and his equation with professional managers. "Everybody has differences," admits Biyani.

Rakesh is seen as very methodical in his approach and totally different from Kishore, who lives by instincts and gut. Group insiders say if Kishore says east, Rakesh tends to say west. But his relationship with Rakesh has 'never been better', Biyani says. Says Rakesh: "We have a good equation. Our responsibilities and work areas are well defined. We have planned review meetings to ensure we are working towards the targets that we have defined for the group."

Business challenges remain

Many of Biyani's problems haven't yet gone away. Many critics still fault him and his business strategy. "Pantaloon is yet not steering away from getting into every format. Gourmet format 'Foodhall' is not a scalable project and niche areas are also high risks until growth comes back," says Abhneesh Roy, vice-president of Edelweiss Securities. "He should steer clear of untested formats and not get into smaller towns. The top 15-20 cities with the larger formats are what work well," Roy adds. "His real challenge will be aligning the team to execute his new mantra and cleaning up his balance sheet," points out Irene Vittal.

Cousin Rakesh is calling for more quick and tough decisions: "Retail is not a Test match, but a Twenty20 game. Quick decisions are a must to ensure that our business keeps pace with consumer needs."

Biyani is back from his vanvaas, renewed. But that doesn't mean that the Future Group's many business problems will all get sorted out. It only means the group has a better shot at a comeback.